Stay Strong and Stay Healthy While You Stay at Home
The past couple of weeks have led to changes in every single facet of our lives, and if we are going to come out healthy on the other side we must adapt. Due to public ordinances, many people are working from home. Since most of us don’t have an ideal home office setting, there is the potential for injury if we aren’t intentional about how and where we set up our home offices.
“I predict a rise in injuries over the next several months as people work in less than ideal ergonomic positions and move less. ”
It is tempting to slouch on the couch with a laptop and sit idle in the same position for extended periods of time. With no meetings to attend, parking lots to walk from or stairs to climb throughout the day we are at high risk for becoming petrified at our desks. This can lead to a slew of symptoms such as back pain, pain in the butt, headaches and forearm pain.
Here are some tips to help eliminate unwanted pain and injury while working from home:
Set an alarm to change your location every 30-60 min to vary body position. If your workstation is movable, consider relocating from sitting at the dining room table to a standing position at the kitchen island.
Set up your workstation far from the kitchen and fill your cup up halfway, forcing you to get up and walk more often back to the kitchen for refills.
Use the restroom furthest from your workstation so that you are forced to walk a longer distance or up and down the stairs.
Walk up and down the stairs 10 times for heart health and glute strength each time you take a break from your workstation.
Use a Swiss ball in lieu of a chair at one of your work stations to work your core while sitting upright.
Incorporate dynamic stretches into your lunch break and again at the end of the workday. Stay tuned for a video with our favorite mobility routines.
Set up your screen and keyboard correctly. For both standing and seated positions, your elbow should be in an “L” position at the keyboard and your eyes should line up with the top 2-3 inches of your monitor.
Who knew that working from home would be so much work?! Establishing new habits can sometimes feel like work, so incorporate these suggestions into your at-home routine from the beginning and you’ll establish a “new normal” with greater ease.
CoachAmyPT remains open to treat patients recovering from surgery, major injuries and debilitating pain. If you develop debilitating pain during this time, please email Coach Amy so she can assess whether you need to make an in-person appointment or a telehealth PT consultation.
As always, prevention is the best medicine. A little intentional daily effort can help you stay strong and healthy while you stay at home.